Conventionally, when a printing apparatus receives received data including object print data, each of the object print data is located at a predetermined printing area. In a state where each object print data is located at a predetermined printing area, the printing apparatus prints the object print data on a printing medium. Such a printing apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 5-303476.
In the printing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 5-303476, form definition data (that is template data) which defines a plurality of fields (that are printing areas) is stored in storing means. An identification number which identifies each field is applied to each field which is defined by form definition data.
When the received data (that is object print data) which is to be printed in each field is transmitted, data representing a field where the received data is to be located is applied to the received data so as to specify one field.
Accordingly, based on the data applied to each received data and the identification number of each field, the received data is located in the specified field. Therefore, the printing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 5-303476 provides a printed matter where each received data is located in a desired arrangement.
However, in the printing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 5-303476, as described above, the identification number is applied to each field of the form definition data. Therefore, data for specifying the field should be applied to each received data so as to locate each received data in a desired field. At this time, data which is applied to each received data necessarily specifies a field which is desired by a user.
In this case, in the printing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 5-303476, a user needs to know the identification number of each field which is defined by the form definition data and a user needs to apply data for specifying a field to each received data based on the known identification number. In other words, in the printing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 5-303476, quite complicated confirming operation and setting operation needs to be performed so as to obtain a desired printed matter.
In the printing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 5-303476, the data for specifying a field can be applied to the received data. However, there has been an apparatus which sends only received data. Since such an inexpensive apparatus with low quality function simply sends the received data, the data for specifying a field cannot be applied to the received data like the printing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 5-303476.
Such an apparatus is used for a printing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 5-303476, each received data is sent without specifying a field where the received data is to be located. Therefore, the arrangement style of each received data is not to be an arrangement style that is desired by a user. In other words, in this case, even a printing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 5-303476 does not provide a user with a desired printed matter.
Further, conventionally, when a printing apparatus receives data from a host apparatus such as a scale, a bar code reader, a medical equipment and the like, item data included in the received data is input to each input item of a template and printed in the printing apparatus. The data received from the host apparatus includes item data, a delimiter, a print start data and the like. Therefore, a user preliminary registered a delimiter character, a print start data and the like which are used by the host apparatus such that the printing apparatus automatically analyzes the item data, a delimiter, a print start data and the like based on the data received from the host apparatus. After such initial setting has been performed, the printing apparatus automatically analyzes the item data, the delimiter, the print start data included in the received data whenever the printing apparatus receives data from the host apparatus. Therefore, the template where the item data included in the received data has been input to the input items can be set to be in an appropriate state.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 5-199990 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-330688 disclose a printing apparatus which automatically analyzes data received from a host computer.
However, if a configuration of data received from the host apparatus is unknown to the user, it is difficult for the user to preliminary register a delimiter character, a print start data and the like which are used by the host apparatus. Therefore, even if the printing apparatus receives data from the host apparatus, the item data, the delimiter or the print start data included in the received data cannot be identified correctly. Thus, the template where the item data included in the received data has been input to the input items cannot be set to be in an appropriate state.
Further, if the printing apparatus has a plurality of templates, the user preliminary needs to select a template where the received data from the host apparatus can be input in an appropriate state. The user needs to know all the templates included in the printing apparatus to select an appropriate template. Therefore, if the number of templates included in the printing apparatus becomes larger, it is difficult for a user to search and select a template where the received data from the host apparatus can be input in an appropriate state.